Moving On.

I've been gone for a while.  So much has happened over the past months, I'm not sure where to begin!  I have laid a quick summary out for you below.

First, I'm sad to say that we no longer live in New Mexico.  We packed up our little ranch house, livestock, and kiddos and drove halfway across the country to Washington State.  It was a bit of a sudden decision, but here we are.  If you have been following me for a while, you know that all of our family live here in Washington, and it was just time to be closer to them.

My little ones have never seen the ocean, or any kind of large body of water before.  Now that we are in Washington, we thought it necessary.  So, one day we bundled up and took a ferry boat trip to Vashon Island.  It was wet and cold, but absolutely wonderful!

Our heifer we brought along with us from New Mexico, had a little heifer of her own.  She is a couple of hours old in this photo and has already grown so much since then! 

I ran the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon - photo taken at the start line.

I reopened Fresh Picked Patchwork here in Washington and survived my first craft show!  I will be at the Puyallup Farmers Market this Fall - so if you're from the area stop by!



 

 I will have more on sewing and other matters, but for now thank you.  I appreciate all of you readers and have truly missed this aspect of the sewing community. 

 

Run for the Zoo

This weekend was a busy one!  We had our usual errands and then picked up my packet for race day, Sunday. 

While on my way to the packet pick up site,  I spotted a quilt shop and lounge that I had never been to before.  With such designers as Amy Butler, Sarah Jane Wright (too name a few) and some of the latest Moda fabrics; it was difficult to retain myself - good thing I chose to pick up my race day goods first - I may not have made it past the cutoff.

But I digress.  I had signed up six weeks ago to run a 5K.  All race proceeds went to the New Mexico Bio Park and Zoo.

Before I had my son, I ran a half marathon in Las Vegas, Nevada.  In between Logan and Aslyn, I ran another one in Albuquerque.  It had been three years since I had ran and felt that I was more than ready to get going with it again.  No excuses.

It was a hot gorgeous day in Albuquerque with roughly 2,000 people to run the 5K alone (there was also a half marathon, 10K, and 1 mile fun run.)

Like my cheering squad?  After the race Logan came up to me and said, "Mom, you ran fast!"  (Not really, but I appreciate his support.)  Both of these little squirts tried to join in the race too, I told them next year, if they wanted too,  I will sign them up for the kid's mile fun run.

Great family event, and a fun filled day at the zoo!

Book Review

I just completed reading the book Run Like A Mother: How to Get Moving - - and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity. by: Sarah Bowen Shea and Dimity McDowell.  (I know!  How in the world was I able to fit reading an entire book in?)

Anyway, I picked this book up hoping to be inspired to lace up my running shoes again.  It has been an awful (waaaayyyy too long) since I've ran - heck since I've really been active at all (4 workouts in 14 months!  Come on now.)

I laughed at areas I could relate too; such as the battle between you and yourself when the alarm clock goes off at 5:00 a.m.  You want to get up and go, you will feel better both physically and mentally if you go and run.  Then there's the other you; the one who is drooling on the pillow and only wants to roll over and snuggle deeper into the blankets.  Another relation: Living in your running clothes all day in the hopes you can sneak off somewhere in between taking care of kids, husbands, pets, the household, work, etc. and run.  (I actually have been doing this everyday for the past week and a half!)

This book is filled with advice, tips, and stories from hard core "I ran until I gave birth and right after" running mom's to "just want to get away and have a moment to myself" running moms.  Training for a 5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathon - to how to compromise, and/or bribe your husband to watch the kiddies while you go on your long run Saturday morning.  No topic was missed.  From breastfeeding your baby on the side of the road/trail to what kids have told their mom's during or after her run. - One of my favorites: a mom came in right after a run in some rather windy weather; her 4 year old looked at her and said, "Mom, you look crazy."

I must admit, this book did get me looking for another half marathon to run; in which I am deciding between a few in October, November or December.  The funny thing is running was never my favorite sport; in fact I loathed the days where gym class was taken out to do laps on the track.  I don't know what possessed me to sign up for my first half marathon in 2006 but since then, I search and train for more - I guess I'm hooked! 

When people ask me about marathons I tell them that I do it for three reasons:

1. Living and working on the ranch, there is no "off" time.  Marathons give me a reason to take a mini vacation.
2. It allows me to go to places I would normally never go (i.e. Las Vegas, NV)
3. Paying the fee to run a marathon is pretty steep (roughly $40-$60), if I pay this then it forces me to actually get off my butt and exercise; having something to look forward too keeps me motivated. 

My Running Partner

I have read it over and over; the best way to keep motivated in your workout regime and lose weight is to do it with a friend. Some workout with their spouses or a group of girlfriends. This may be true for those who have spouses who are interested or friends nearby however, I don't have either. I tried the online sites where you workout virtually with a partner, but even those only kept me motivated for so long before it just became ridiculous. I have Biscuit.

Biscuit is not only my running partner but also my security alerter. Recently we have had the cougar and bear approach themselves closer to home and me running around in their territory may not make them all that happy. But I know if even a rabbit or coyote is nearby when Biscuit is around.

Like anybody else, there are days where he does not want to wake up before the sun to go out running with me. On several occasions now after passing the first cattle guard, he'll stop and watch me. I run a little further and ask him if he's sitting this one out or coming along. When he stops before the second cattle guard I know he's staying home. But he is always at the gate waiting for me when I get back!

Race Ready?

Only ten more days until my first 5K race. Am I ready? Nope. I really began fretting over this last night after I talked to a friend of mine. Here I am just shooting the breeze, filling him in on what we've been up to, asking him about this and that, when I tell him about this race. He got all excited and asked more details; then said that he is going to go and watch! Uh oh.

The time just flew by so fast! When I had signed up for this race I had 3 weeks of training. Now as I look at my calendar I can not believe where the weeks have gone. I have run the distance plus more over the course of these weeks however, I have not put in as much speed work as I would have liked. Thus, I will more than likely not meet my race pace goal. Still, I will go out there have fun and let the adrenaline and excitement lead the way.

Running

I never considered myself an athlete. Three years ago I talked to a fitness trainer about different cross training programs to add to my runs for my first half marathon. While discussing these programs she mentioned "...an athlete like yourself..." Me? I looked around to see who else was in the room; no one.

It was not until after that first 13.1 miles that I said to myself, "Maybe I am!" Now, after a long break from any kind of fitness regime, I am in the midst of training for yet another half marathon. Although I have to admit that this mornings run was not as graceful as previous runs. I woke up late, therefore not getting my full stretch and warm up in not to mention water intake. Then while crossing one of the cattleguards, I tripped and hurt my elbow.

It's moments like these that I agree with all of those who call me crazy for doing this in the first place.